Class 175s to Great Western Railway (GWR)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

172002 had brakes locked on at Liskeard. This fault a couple days after it had door interlock issues, also at Liskeard

Today the rescue unit sent wrong road from Plymouth was coupled up to 175002 and the brake problem transferred to the new unit.

Subsequent major disruption in Cornwall.

[REVUpminster]

The move from Wolverton to Laira was cancelled for the second time which has been the norm.

175002 and 175011 are parked up on the Looe branch until they fix the problem.

[REVUpminster]

Plan to remove the failed units tomorrow night.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:53806/2026-02-11/detailed

Today has been a good day with 175001+175003 in tandem on training run to Newton Abbot-Penzance-Plymouth before 175001 made up the one passenger diagram to Penzance and back.

175009 also did a couple of training runs.

[grahame]

Plan to remove the failed units tomorrow night.

8X75. - Maximum speed 33 m.p.h.   23:20 at Liskeard to 04:15 at Laira.  On skids?  Man walking in front with red flag?

[stuving]

Plan to remove the failed units tomorrow night.

8X75. - Maximum speed 33 m.p.h.   23:20 at Liskeard to 04:15 at Laira.  On skids?  Man walking in front with red flag?

That would be too fast for skates, wouldn't it? But it's actually a "feature" of RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website)'s reporting of VSTP^▸ (Very Short Term Plan timetable - which comes into play during disruption / last minute changes) services: in the data the 33 is meant to be m/s but it hasn't been converted, which would give 75 mi/hr.

[Hafren]

ANother forum is saying 5mph.... those timings certainly look painful!

I assume the '33' is some code in the timing load – looks like RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) can't match it against its list of timing load tokens, so it's misreading as a speed, perhaps. Similar to when the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) timings first appeared - IIRC^▸ ('if I recall/remember/read correctly') the code for Class 800 DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) didn't make sense to RTT (or to whatever source it uses) so it parsed it as diesel loco with 800t trailing load.

[grahame]

ANother forum is saying 5mph.... those timings certainly look painful!

Watch Journeycheck tomorrow morning - "this train has been delayed because of a slower train in front of it" for early services from Penzance to Plymouth.

[stuving]

ANother forum is saying 5mph.... those timings certainly look painful!

I assume the '33' is some code in the timing load – looks like RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) can't match it against its list of timing load tokens, so it's misreading as a speed, perhaps. Similar to when the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) timings first appeared - IIRC^▸ ('if I recall/remember/read correctly') the code for Class 800 DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) didn't make sense to RTT (or to whatever source it uses) so it parsed it as diesel loco with 800t trailing load.

Pathing and planning speed are two separate parameters. Here, for example, is what RTT has for a goods working (not VSTP^▸ (Very Short Term Plan timetable - which comes into play during disruption / last minute changes)) which ran yesterday -

Pathed as Diesel locomotive, trailing load 600 tonnes
Planned for 60mph max

For most passenger stock at the moment the pathing information does not include a speed, that's implied by the class.

This is the text for the  planned recovery of the 175s tonight -

Pathed as Class 150/153/155/156 DMU
Planned for 33mph max

Obviously the scheduled timings were not derived from either the maximum speed for planning purposes or the pathing category!

That "33 mph" is common on RTT for VSTP (labelled VST) movements, for example this for a light loco running Bescot to Arpley yesterday -

Pathed as Diesel locomotive
Planned for 33mph max

The point, as I understand it, is that VSTPs are different. Everything else goes through standard processing to become part of the current timetable, at least at the start of each day. Details may be altered later (becoming VAR entries), but no new entries can be inserted into the timetable. VSTP items are provided separately so that they can be added to e.g. displayed outputs at a late stage in their production. The process that formats them for the industry data feed is separate from that for the main timetable.

So yes - that speed is provided in m/s, and should converted if required in mi/hr as 75. Other apps on line get it right, e.g. Liverail, or Live Train Times. The last divides the information differently, but for tonight's sick 175 movement includes:

Train Info
Operated By GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)
Timed For 75mph
Power Type DMU
Timing Load Sprinter

[REVUpminster]

If they can separate the trains maybe 175011 can return faster?

This is a job for Saltash cams at 0208 if I can stay awake. Don't trust the timings.

175009 failed today out on the public run.

Recovering the trains was cancelled. Luckily I forgot and didn't stay up.

[stuving]

After all that, what an anti-climax!
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:V75372/2026-02-12/detailed

All sorted out in situ (by someone who knows about these things, apparently) and then scoot back to Plymouth in half an hour. Its buddy 011 was meant to follow an hour later (5Z15), but for some reason ... now what's happened there?

[REVUpminster]

After all that, what an anti-climax!
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:V75372/2026-02-12/detailed

Al sorted out in situ (by someone who knows about these things, apparently) and then scoot back to Plymouth in half an hour. Its buddy 011 was meant to follow an hour later (5Z15), but for some reason ... now what's happened there?

011 due to leave Liskeard as 5Z15 at 1945 using an existing path showing cancelled at the moment. It wasn't going to be sent via Penzance.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:V75376/2026-02-12/detailed

[REVUpminster]

175011 is back at Laira somehow??
It is out an about and due to do the 1340 Plymouth - Penzance. I did a snip of the train at Saltash. It may not appear here.
[Image from here is not available to guests]

[stuving]

175011 is back at Laira somehow??
It is out an about and due to do the 1340 Plymouth - Penzance. I did a snip of the train at Saltash. It may not appear here.
[Image from here is not available to guests]

5Z13 shows 175011 allocated from Par, and RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) has reports of it from Par to (so far) St Germans. How it got to Par, and why it's not showing on Traksy, is another matter.

It has just popped up at Wivelscombe on Traksy. But how it's already got past Saltash on camera, I have no idea.

[REVUpminster]

175011 is back at Laira somehow??
It is out an about and due to do the 1340 Plymouth - Penzance. I did a snip of the train at Saltash. It may not appear here.
[Image from here is not available to guests]

5Z13 shows 175011 allocated from Par, and RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) has reports of it from Par to (so far) St Germans. How it got to Par, and why it's not showing on Traksy, is another matter.

It has just popped up at Wivelscombe on Traksy. But how it's already got past Saltash on camera, I have no idea.

I have a picture of 175011 using the snipping tool because you can turn the time back on the Saltash camera to 11.14 hrs. I just did it again to check.  I posted it on RailUK forums but it dosen't work here unless I put it on Flikr.

The 1340 was cancelled and only 175001 seems to be running round. GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) service gone to pot.

[TaplowGreen]

Looks like the 175s are coming to Laira plus the two simulators. The 158s at Exeter to go to Bristol.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to get all the class 175s.  It be great to see them in service they are good units.

This hasn't aged very well.